Bitcoin price slump pulls the entire crypto market south with it

After an interim recovery in the previous week, the crypto market has to cope with significant price declines again. The weakness in the classic financial market and the weakest weekly development of the Nasdaq technology index since March 2020 is causing a real sell-off in cryptocurrencies. Many altcoins have now corrected 70 percent and more from their all-time highs.

Investors are now looking towards the psychological USD 30,000 mark, which could already be approached in the coming trading days. The financial market is waiting for the first meeting of the US central bank this year, as well as quarterly figures from the technology giants Microsoft and Apple. For the time being, investors should keep a close eye on the full-year outlook from the major US Internet companies.

Best price development among the top 10 altcoins:

Ripples (XRP):

Despite a relative outperformance compared to its competition, Ripple also lost significantly in value this week and is trading around 25 percent lower. The sell-off in the last four trading days pushes the XRP price back to the historical low of December 4, 2021 at USD 0.57. Should Ripple abandon this support level, there is a risk of a further decline towards the June 2021 lows of USD 0.51. As long as Ripple cannot rise back above USD 0.78, further price falls are imminent in the short term.

Bullish Variant (Ripple)

Despite an increased probability of a positive outcome of the SEC lawsuit in the USA, Ripple’s price cannot resist the sell-off on the crypto market. Due to the current uncertainty, investors are also taking cover for Ripple for the time being. The buyer side must now try to let Ripple rise back above the resistance at USD 0.64 in a first step. Recapturing this price mark activates the area around USD 0.70 as the first price target.

In addition to a horizontal support, the EMA20 (red) can also be found here. Clear resistance from the bears is therefore already to be expected at this mark. If the buyer side succeeds in sustainably breaking through this resist, a short-term directional decision will be made at USD 0.78. Next to the supertrend runs just above the EMA50 (orange). Only when this zone can be recaptured at the end of the day does the chart brighten up a bit. Then the XRP price could target the light blue zone between USD 0.85 and USD 0.89. In particular, the upper edge of the zone shows massive resistance with the EMA200 (blue). If the crypto market recovers from its current price weakness in the coming weeks and bounces back above the EMA200 to the north, already waiting in the red zone of the MA200 (green) as well as the red overriding downtrend line.

The chart picture brightens up a bit

Should Ripple dynamically overcome this area and also recapture USD 1.05, a retest of the area around USD 1.20 would be conceivable in the medium term. A maximum increase in the range of USD 1.35 to USD 1.40 is currently possible. From the current chart perspective, the high from September 2021 represents the maximum bullish price target for the coming weeks. If this area can be jumped over in the coming months, further trend dynamics towards USD 1.58 are conceivable. If there is no clear rebound to the south here either, a march through to the purple resistance area cannot be ruled out. The maximum price target that can be derived is unchanged at USD 1.74 for the time being.

Bearish Variant (Ripple)

The bears sold off Ripple significantly in the last few trading days. If the weakness on the financial market spreads in the coming days and weeks, Ripple threatens to correct itself to USD 0.51. If this support level, derived from the trend lows of summer 2021, does not hold, Rippe threatens to immediately fall back to the USD 0.45 mark. A direct price drop to the lower edge of the blue support zone at USD 0.40 would also be conceivable. The bulls are likely to try to initiate a countermovement here. If this support level is abandoned, the correction will extend to at least USD 0.36. Below this price mark, the support at USD 0.31 comes into the focus of investors as a target.

At least a first counter-movement can be expected here. If this does not happen and Ripple continues to tend to be weak in the medium term, the correction will extend to the green support zone between USD 0.28 and USD 0.23. Here, the buyer side should come back onto the floor to prevent a sell-off of up to USD 0.21 and a maximum of USD 0.17. The price mark of USD 0.17 represents the maximum bearish price target for the coming months. Investors should continue to observe from the sidelines and wait for a bottom to be formed. It also remains to be seen whether the court ruling will have a positive impact on the XRP course.

Indicators (Ripple)

Both the RSI indicator and the MACD are showing sell signals again this week. A look at the weekly chart confirms the bearish picture for Ripple. Both indicators are also showing sell signals in a weekly comparison, which is why further price corrections currently appear likely.

Worst price development among the top 10 altcoins:

Solana (SOL):

Weak, weaker, Solana? The technical chart situation at Solana can currently be assessed in this way or something similar. With a price discount of 45 percent in the last seven trading days, the former outperformer of last summer lost almost half of its value. The renewed failure of the Solana blockchain in the last few days raises questions about excessive centrality and the reliability of the crypto ecosystem around Solana. Solana is currently appraising the support area at $82. If this support is abandoned, another price correction towards the green support zone between USD 66 and USD 56 threatens. Only a recapture of USD 131 should stabilize the SOL course and brighten the chart image again.

Bullish Variant (Solana)

Currently, it’s hard to identify anything bullish on the Solana chart. Only the fact that we can increasingly count on a technical counter-movement after such a bear rally, and that the sellers are likely to realize more profits from their bets on falling prices, could ensure a counter-reaction to the north in the short term. If Solana bounces north at the current support at USD 82, the bulls must immediately try to recapture the 61 Fibonacci retracement at USD 96. If it succeeds in breaking through this mark, the orange zone between USD 115 and USD 125 will first come into focus again. At the latest in the area of ​​USD 131 there will be a directional decision.

Strong resistance

The EMA20 (red) and the supertrend in the daily chart are currently running at this multiple resistance. Only when this resist is broken through sustainably could the SOL course continue to rise and target the blue resistance area. In this zone, however, there is a whole bunch of resistances. The EMA200 (blue), the MA200 (green) and the 78 Fibonacci retracement at USD 148 should be insurmountable in the first attempt. If Solana can leave the upper edge of the blue resistance zone behind at the daily closing price and also break through the resistance at USD 160, the chart image will gradually brighten. A follow-up increase up to the area around USD 180 is then conceivable. The maximum target for the coming weeks and months is between USD 205 and USD 218. A break above these two resistance levels is not expected for the time being. Investors still have to wait for a bottoming out before opening their first positions with Solana.

Bearish Variant (Solana)

After a short break, the bears are back on the trigger and have sent Solana down again massively in the past few days. In the meantime, the SOL price has lost around 70 percent from its all-time high. The sell side is currently trying to break through the support at 82 USD. If this support line is undercut by the daily closing price, the SOL price threatens to extend its correction towards USD 70. This is where the overarching 50s Fibonacci retracement runs. There is also another support just below USD 66. If this is also abandoned without any real resistance from the bulls, the area around the old all-time high of USD 58 will come into focus for investors. The 38 Fibonacci retracement also runs at the lower edge of this zone. In all likelihood, the bulls will make another attempt at stabilization here.

Further downward movement possible

If it is not possible to send the SOL course back north here either, and Solana falls back below USD 52 for a long time, the next relevant price target is USD 44. For the time being, this support mark represents the maximum bearish price target for the coming period. However, if Bitcoin breaks below the strong support area at USD 30,000 in a timely manner, Solana could even correct it up to the 23 Fibonacci retracement at USD 35. Then, if the weakness in the entire crypto market persists, a 100 percent correction back to the lows from the summer of the previous year could even be considered. This last bastion runs in the $22 to $19 range.

Indicators (Solana):

The MACD indicator as well as the RSI continue to show sell signals in the daily chart. As long as the RSI cannot rally back to the neutral zone between 45 and 55, the bears remain in control.

Stability of the top 10

The price recovery of the previous week was abruptly stopped by the sell-off of Bitcoin. The dynamic fall below the psychological USD 40,000 mark also caused all top 10 altcoins to correct significantly. All 10 major cryptocurrencies fall more than 20 percentage points in value. Solana (SOL) tops the list with a 44 percent price discount, followed by Polkadot (DOT) with 42 percent and Avalanche (AVAX) with 40 percent.

Only Ripple (XRP) is a little better than its competition with a 27 percent drop in price. As in the previous week, the extraordinary weakness at Solana caused the high-speed blockchain to lose a place in the rankings. After Cardano in the previous week, Ripple can also overtake Solana and jump back to fifth place. Dogecoin (DOGE) also overtakes Avalanche at ninth place in the rankings.

Winners and losers of the week

Bitcoin’s price weakness, including falling below the tear-off edge at USD 39,500, has caused significant price corrections for the altcoins in the last 3 trading days. The simultaneously increasing BTC dominance indicates additional weakness in alternative cryptocurrencies. Investors are currently fleeing altcoins and switching back to Bitcoin or directly to stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. Looking at the performance of the top 100 altcoins, a clear picture emerges. All of the top 100 altcoins are following Bitcoin south and most are showing massive price losses. The list of weekly losers is headed by Near (NEAR) with a 52 percent price slump.

Harmony (ONE), the Curve DAO Token (CRV) and Gala (GALA) also lose around 50 percent in value. More than 30 of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies have lost more than 40 percent in the last seven trading days. This makes this week’s sell-off one of the biggest weekly losses the crypto market has seen in recent years. It turns out that in such critical market phases, as in the past, the altcoins lose significantly more than the key cryptocurrency bitcoin.

Disclaimer: The price estimates presented on this page do not represent buy or sell recommendations. They are merely an assessment by the analyst.

The chart images were created using TradingView created.

USD/EUR exchange rate at the time of going to press: EUR 0.88.